February 2003

A CHAT WITH TOM KUDIRKA, PRESIDENT & CEO, 2015, INC.

GIGnews recruited Melanie Cambron, known by most in the industry as The Game Recruiting Goddess, to use her skills for the good of gamekind and recruit some of the big names in the industry to give us all valuable insight into what they do and how they do it.

In this interview, Melanie chats up Tom Kudirka, Founder, President, and CEO of 2015, Inc. Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, Tom received degrees in Business Information Systems and Electronics before moving to Tulsa as a Field Engineer for Lucent Technologies. His flexible schedule afforded him the time to start multiple business ventures, and his love of technology and gaming led him to form 2015 in 1997.

Founded with the goal of producing the next generation of innovative first person action games, 2015 has grown under Tom’s direction from a start up of literally no full time employees to a major force in game development staffed with some of the finest veterans in the industry. Tom served as Producer for the company’s first project, an add-on pack for the game Sin, Wages of SiN. Wages of SiN won critical acclaim with many reviewers pronouncing it better than the original game. This product introduced 2015 to the gaming community and allowed Tom to crystallize his development philosophy: high quality, on time.

Under the brand name Trainwreck Studios Tom and his team developed two titles for the budget software market, Laser Arena and CIA Operative, and grew the studio in experience and personnel. 2015’s most recent release, Medal of Honor Allied Assault, represents the culmination of Tom’s efforts as a studio head. The game received accolades from its earliest public appearances and was awarded Best PC Game of Show at the 2001 E3. Tom is currently steering the studio through the transition to the console market and 2015 has two highly anticipated projects in production, including the recently announced Men of Valor: Vietnam.

MC: I daresay that the average game player on the street would be surprised to learn that one of the most lauded games in recent memory was created in Oklahoma. What challenges have you faced in getting the talent you need to live and work in Oklahoma? You’ve obviously succeeded, so what ultimately wins folks over?

TK: The main challenge in recruiting potential employees to consider Oklahoma is the stigma that Tulsa is a barren, desolate small town with nothing to do. Tulsa is actually a very modern, clean and growing community. We’ve been very successful bringing talent into Tulsa once we point out that Tulsa offers a higher quality of life. Tulsa has very little traffic and very low crime. It takes most of my guys about five to ten minutes to drive to work. Our office is located in a newer part of town where it is surrounded by new apartments and new subdivisions. Real estate costs are very low when compared to other game development cities. Many of our employees loved to move to Tulsa because they found a place where they could afford to build a new home for their families and their wives did not have to work. The difficult part of recruiting individuals is getting them to be open to a visit to Tulsa. Once they get here and see the office and the city then they’re very excited.

MC: Also, in terms of winning folks over, I’m sure many game developers would love to know how you went about getting EA to hand over the MOH reins for Medal of Honor Allied Assault?

TK: Electronic Arts had just finished working on the initial Medal of Honor game for Playstation when they set out looking for a team to development a PC Medal of Honor product. Several other development studios recommended 2015 as the hot new team on the block. EA flew in to Tulsa and talked with us. Before long we had a development contract in hand to develop a prototype using the Quake III engine. The prototype really showed off our art and programming talents, so once EA saw the prototype, we were the team.

MC: GIGnews receives many questions from aspiring game designers, most along the lines of "What sacrifices will you have to make to even get published?" What sacrifices can developer hopefuls expect to make?

TK: Game development really takes over your life. The obvious sacrifice that comes to mind is the amount of time that needs to be dedicated to making games. Crunch time is unavoidable. We always strive to get that one last feature in to make the game great.

MC: In its November issue, GameInformer Magazine awarded MOHAA's Omaha Beach landing the fourth greatest moment in video game history. There’s obviously a wealth of material on World War II, so how do you even start on a game like that in terms of research and putting together the story?

TK: It’s actually amazing how much information on WWII and D-day is on the Internet and in books. By the time the game was complete we had collected quite a library of information.

MC: Richard Garriott, among others, has mentioned Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth as a source of inspiration. Will Wright has mentioned Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics as a big inspiration. One of the many things Bruce Shelley said he learned working with Sid Meier is to do a lot of your basic research in the children’s section of the library. Are there any books, in particular, that you believe are "must reads" for game inspiration?

TK: Myths, legends, and fairy tales are excellent sources of inspiration because they build complex stories, with inexhaustible shades of meaning, out of very simple characters and easy to understand situations. A good game design does the same – takes simple, easily understood elements with intuitive interactions and builds a complex and compelling player experience.

MC: Gamespy gave MOHAA the best game sound award for 2002. In their commendation they note "it was obvious a lot of care went into crafting the game's audio. With the audio detail turned up, you felt like you were really there, not just sitting in front of a screen, and that's probably the best compliment we can give it." What does it take to make a game’s sound that good?

TK: Today’s game sound effects are more complex then ever. Most sounds are created in a sound studio where the same time and effort are comparable to the creation of movie sounds. In order to make a game’s sound effects good, care must be taken to make the sounds feel realistic. A majority of sounds are actual recordings of a Garand or MP40. Sometimes the actual recordings need to be tweaked because they don’t sound real to the human ear, it’s actually quite an art. Although 2015 was responsible for the development of MoHAA the credit for the sound and music does go to the guys at Electronic Arts. They really did a great job.

MC: Having achieved greatness in the PC market you've decided to make your way in the world of console game development. What unforeseen challenges or differences have you encountered in console versus PC game development?

TK: One word: MEMORY. Consoles have very strict memory limitations that restrict how much content can be displayed on the screen at any given time. It takes a little while to get everyone to continuously be aware of this limitation.

MC: An increasing number of schools are offering degrees in game design. Do you think game design is something that can be taught in a school environment?

TK: There are some basic principles of game design that can probably be taught in a classroom, but we’ve yet to see evidence that current programs are actually teaching them. So much of being a successful designer is about working with a team, communicating with idiosyncratic personalities, and adapting your plan to commercial requirements or technical limitations while preserving its essential goals. I think you’d learn these skills a lot better at a regular four-year university, training in the sciences or humanities and socializing with people of disparate interests, than you would in a program focused on games, with a student body that is similarly obsessed.

MC: Last year, 2015 and Vivendi announced a worldwide development deal for an upcoming action title. What can you tell us about the project?

TK: The game is called Men of Valor: Vietnam™ and is being developed for the Xbox and PC platforms. The game is being published by Sierra Entertainment and is a historical first-person shooter that portrays infantry combat during the Vietnam War. People really responded on an emotional level to the intensity and authenticity of some of the combat in Medal of Honor Allied Assault, and we’re taking those features to the next level with Men of Valor. The Xbox has the power to really portray the atmosphere of the jungles and rice paddies of Vietnam, and our designers are doing a great job constructing the natural environments and researching the historical encounters portrayed in the game.

MC: What do you see as the next big development in the games industry? Do you foresee any particular trends?

TK: I think we’ll see further consolidation of publishers and more competition for access to high profile development teams. Fewer mid-budget titles and an expansion of development budgets overall is likely, especially when the next generation of consoles hit. Cooperative play seems to be catching on and I think you’ll see online cooperative games making a bigger splash on the consoles than PC style competitive multiplayer games.

MC: If you could narrow your success down to three key elements, what would they be?

TK: Plan your work and work your plan. High quality, on time. And take care of your employees. Give them the best office space, bonuses, working environment and benefits you can because they are EVERYTHING to a game company.

MC: I recently read that it is against the law in Tulsa to open a soda bottle without the supervision of a licensed engineer. The next time I’m in Tulsa and hankering for a Coke, will you help me out?

TK: It’s against the law? Cool.

AUTHOR BIO
Melanie Cambron is a recruiter for game industry leaders such as THQ, Midway, and Infogrames. Featured in Game Design: Secrets of the Sages for her game industry knowledge, she also wrote the foreword to the successful book, Game Programming with Direct X 7.0 and its follow-up. Melanie speaks each semester at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of North Texas on the game development industry, and is frequently interviewed by major media such as the Dallas Morning News for her industry expertise. She also serves as a consultant to the City of Austin's Interactive Industry Development Committee. Learn more about the "Game Recruiting Goddess" at www.melaniecambron.com or contact her directly at melanie@melaniecambron.com

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